Carnival hit by attack of ransomware, guest and employee data accessible


(Reuters) – Cruise operator Carnival Corp. said on Monday that it had begun an investigation into a ransomware attack on one of the information technology system systems.

Carnival, which operates AIDA, Carnival and Princess cruises among others, submitted in a regulation said https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/815097/000095014220002039/eh2001078_8k.htm de attack involved unauthorized access to personal data of guests and staff.

The company identified the brand that was affected and refused to provide more details because the research process was at an early stage.

The attack adds to the misery of the company, which has been struggling for months to stop its cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic amid travel restrictions around the world.

Certain databases were downloaded during the attack, Carnival said, adding that there was no guarantee that information technology systems from its other markets would not be adversely affected.

Ransomware is a kind of malicious program used by hackers to take control of files in an infected system and then demand hefty payments to recover them.

The company said it believed the incident would have no material impact on its business, operations or financial results.

(Report by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Edited by Shinjini Ganguli)